Attn. Melbourne Supporters - Petracca's Skills?

[Lavender Bushranger]

Watching the game last night, it was like Bruce and I were watching two totally different people out there.

We all know there is a narrative that Petracca is a young superstar, but what was actually taking place on the ground didn't match up with the gushing commentary about him.

Lloyd called Petracca out during the week for being pretty average throughout his career thus far, and particularly last week compared to his teammates such as Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Salem etc. but it seems that Bruce and Brian didn't get the memo that we've moved on from 'Wow this guy is going to be unbelievable!' to 'Hmmm, Ok, this guy has played 62 games and is merely Ok at this stage'.


Usually, a team's supporters pick up in this sort of stuff well before the rest of the footy public snap out of their brainwashed state of whatever it is that the AFL media is telling them.

And I'm wondering if Melbourne fans are seeing this with Petracca - in particular his slaughtering of the football by foot?


He's somewhat of a Clanger king. He's up there with the Clanger leaders in the comp like Fyfe, Martin, Mitchell, Cripps, Oliver etc. who get tagged every week and are under constant pressure - and get the ball 30 times a week! Yet Petracca gets it under 20 times a week, and basically gets no attention at all as the all-star cast down at Melbourne are absorbing all the heat.

I thought I heard a bronx cheer from the crowd last night when he finally found a Melbourne player in the F50 in the 3rd quarter.


Do Melbourne fans feel this way?

 

[mattyc25]

His ball drop is far too high, from around his chest meaning his kicking is very inconsistent.

He did some great things last night but turned it over many times kicking into F50.

So yeah agree overall, but has huge potential.

 

[Bleeeeeeeeep]

Not having a go at Petracca, i think he is a quality player, but the media hype on some players and teams is cringe worthy.
But they are selling an "entertainment" package after all.

 

[Brend81]

He is usually a very good kick I think sometimes he just rushes a bit, he goes flat out then kicks unlike someone like melksham who goes flat out but then steadies before making a decision, he will get better at it but for every clanger last night he also did something excellent and is very unselfish he would rather pass off then have a shot, will be a Star eventually that I have no doubt just needs to calm down a touch when he has the ball

 

[Superstar swan]

Petracca is a gun. His skills are poor at times as with many of the competitions elite. I compare petracca to josh kennedy. A bull of a mid with sometimes horrible skills. Never stopped kennedynfrom being a top 5 mid at one point

 

[PrinceCharles]

St Kilda dodged a bullet, that's for sure.

 

[Hundred_Thousand_Tigers]

Personally, I've always thought he has the potential to be similar to Dustin Martin in terms of impact, so I don't care about a 'clanger' stat or whatever stat you wanna pull.

But of course regardless of output, the media will pump him up to enhance fan engagement and save the game from waning interesting among young people. It's their modus operandi.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Personally, I've always thought he has the potential to be similar to Dustin Martin in terms of impact, so I don't care about a 'clanger' stat or whatever stat you wanna pull.

But of course regardless of output, the media will pump him up to enhance fan engagement and save the game from waning interesting among young people. It's their modus operandi.

This.

Poor man's Stewie Dew for mine. Needs to lose some weight and work harder.

No doubt has talent - comes across as a bloke who rates himself very highly.

Underachieved so far...

 

[gangsta deluxe]

St Kilda dodged a bullet, that's for sure.

Lolololol I love it.

Who wouldn’t take the hamburgler every day of the week? (Apart from everyone, that is)

 

[Xhoquelin]

Yep mate Dees fans have been all over him this season. He’s just not good enough. Played a good game last night but even then sometimes his kicking is suspect still. Hasn’t been as good as he was last season in that defined false CHF role

 

[King Kunta]

Partly comes down to his decision making. He loves to kick the cover off the ball (which looks great when it comes off) but there seems to be a directive this year to play selfless and look for a shorter option. At times, I think he is caught between two minds and makes errors as a consequence.

Having said that, he had a good game last night. Hopefully he can back it up next week.

 

[dee64]

This.

Poor man's Stewie Dew for mine. Needs to lose some weight and work harder.

No doubt has talent - comes across as a bloke who rates himself very highly.

Underachieved so far...

Agree with everything other than "Poor man's Stewie Dew".

He missed a fair bit of footy through injury early days, and I don't think he's got an AFL body yet. Until he does, he'll be a half forward with some X factor. But the club doesn't need him to be a superstar, but just to contribute.

He is overrated by the media, but I'm sure the club knows where he ranks.

 

[Grizza]

He reminds me of Dusty early days. Dusty was carrying a bit and struggled to cover ground and run out games. He would have 18 touches in the first half of the game then finish with like 24. Once he lost weight and added endurance, every element of his game improved. I suspect Christian will follow a similar path and will breakout at around age 25, whereas the typical midfielder usually breakouts a lot earlier. He still needs thorough conditioning due to his athletic profile, but the potential is there. It’s up to him whether he fulfills it or not.

His disposal isn’t a concern for me either. Some of his field kicking is exceptional. A relatively young kid in a high pressure finals game can’t be expected to kick at 95%. If he’s still butchering it at Dangerfield’s age then there’s a cause for concern.

 

[Dez!]

Yep mate Dees fans have been all over him this season. He’s just not good enough. Played a good game last night but even then sometimes his kicking is suspect still. Hasn’t been as good as he was last season in that defined false CHF role

And wrongly at that.

People judge him way harder than everyone else because they expect so much.

He's one of the hardest workers in the forward line and always applying pressure.

20 disposals
19 goals
14th in average goal assists (8th in total goal assists)
14th in total score involvements
16th in total inside 50's

That's a good season from a forward/forward flank but because people expect so much of Petracca he doesn't get credit for doing the basic things (that a lot of players don't do) very well.

 

[wowlace]

Can be hit or miss. Definitely over hyped. But played out of position I feel.

 

[JohnnyFontane90]

they're excited for what he can become because that forward/midfielder hybrid is the model that the modern superstar is built (sort of like de goey). But i think he's better as a midfielder, but melbourne's depth in that area is forcing him into more of a half forward role. last night brayshaw was the one that made way but not sure that will happen that often.

also thought last night hawthorn did a pretty good job of making the inside corridor kick very difficult to pull off and lots of players had skill errors as a result. I don't think that was limited to just petracca.

 

[dylan93]

Definitely got a bit of a way to go. Hoping he has a bit more of a breakout this year. Oliver was last year and stepped it up again this year. Brayshaw was this year's. Finger crossed Petracca next year.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Dunno what the go with him is. I thought he was going to be a mid?

He’s very average and seems to only impact a couple of moments per game.

Needs to lose 10kg to start with. Slow as BM58er

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Yep mate Dees fans have been all over him this season. He’s just not good enough. Played a good game last night but even then sometimes his kicking is suspect still. Hasn’t been as good as he was last season in that defined false CHF role

It's fascinating.

Even on this thread - non-Melbourne fans rate him really highly, whereas the Melbourne fans who watch him closely, as opposed to listening to Bruce and Basil can see that he's somewhat of a butcher.


Don't get me wrong, he's no spud. Not suggesting that. But his disposal really, really lets him down.

 

[mehow2g]

AFL/Commentary want Petracca to be a thing given his good looks and body type and poster boy potential, He's a good player however hes behind a fair few players on his team who are less experienced and younger, I highly doubt he will reach the vision from the people who hype him into oblivion.

I'm not having a dig he didn't ask for the hype.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

AFL/Commentary want Petracca to be a thing given his good looks and body type and poster boy potential, He's a good player however hes behind a fair few players on his team who are less experienced and younger.

I'm not having a dig he didn't ask for the hype.

Good looking??

I reckon he looks like he's not quite the full quid.

 

[PP34]

De Goey is the best player from that draft yet doesn’t get nearly as much media frothing over him.

 

[The Meerkat]

I like him.

 

[Sylvia Saint]

Well I'm somewhere in the middle.
He's overrated for the most part, but was brilliant last night. Find me a player that doesn't butcher a few kicks in finals.

 

[Jordie_tackles]

I think he struggles most when he has time to think about it, over thinks it. When he plays on instinct he is great, when he has less time.